This application makes reference to the following co-pending U.S. Patent Applications. The first application is U.S. application Ser. No. 09/281,982, entitled xe2x80x9cFiber Optic Ferrule,xe2x80x9d filed Mar. 31, 1999. The second application is U.S. application Ser. No. 09/389,220, entitled xe2x80x9cEnclosure for Optical Subassembly Having Mechanical Alignment Features,xe2x80x9d filed Sep. 3, 1999. Both of these application are hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to optical transceivers, transceiver housings, and transceiver cages or mountings.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Despite the various attempts to make better housings and mountings for optical transceivers, there continues to exist a need for housings and mountings that are simple to manufacture and provide consistent electrical properties. For example, most typical transceiver housings are made from multiple pieces that must be soldered or otherwise fixed together. The necessity of soldering the pieces together makes the manufacture of the transceiver housing more complicated. The presence of otherwise continuous unsoldered gaps between the pieces would negatively affect the electrical properties of the housing, such as electromagnetic performance.
With respect to mountings for optical transceivers, a typical transceiver cage provides inconsistent electrical contact with the chassis through which the cage protrudes and allows considerable electromagnetic radiation to escape through the opening in the chassis where the cage is mounted due to non-continuous conduction of magnetic flux to electric current or ground potential.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a transceiver housing that may be manufactured from a single sheet of material or from pieces that behave as a continuous material.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a transceiver housing in which electromagnetic radiation within the housing is directed continuously without perturbation by the flow of current on the surface of the housing.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a transceiver cage for a transceiver system that may be manufactured from a single sheet of material, or pieces that behave as a continuous material.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a transceiver cage for a transceiver system that is effective in preventing the flow of electromagnetic radiation between the interior of the host chassis and the external environment surrounding the host chassis.
According to a first broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transceiver housing comprising: an opening at a proximal end thereof for receiving a transceiver; a plurality of contact fingers extending from the proximal end for engaging the transceiver and retaining the transceiver in the housing body; and a first side and a second side, each of the first side and the second side including mounting means for mounting a printed wire assembly within the transceiver housing.
According to a second broad aspect of the invention, there is provided a transceiver cage comprising: a hollow cage body made of metal for mounting a transceiver within the transceiver cage and for preventing radiation from outside the cage body from entering the cage body and for preventing radiation from the transceiver from exiting the cage body; a plurality of mounting pins extending from the cage body for mounting the transceiver on a printed wiring board; and a plurality of internal contact fingers at a proximal open end of the hollow cage body for engaging a chassis through which the transceiver cage is inserted and for engaging the transceiver.
According to a third broad aspect of the invention, there is provided an optoelectronic device comprising: a transceiver cage; and a transceiver mounted in the transceiver cage, wherein the transceiver cage includes radiation control openings therein, each of the radiation control openings having a maximum width no greater than xc2xc of the wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation corresponding to ten times the highest signal frequency present in the transceiver circuitry.
According to a fourth broad aspect of the invention, there is provided a transceiver housing and cage system comprising: a transceiver cage including: a hollow cage body made of metal for mounting a transceiver within the transceiver cage and for preventing radiation from outside the cage body from entering the cage body and for preventing radiation from the transceiver from exiting the cage body; a plurality of mounting pins extending from the cage body for mounting the transceiver cage on a printed wiring board; a plurality of internal contact fingers at a proximal open end of the hollow cage body for engaging a chassis through which the transceiver cage is inserted; a transceiver housing mounted in the transceiver cage, the transceiver housing including: an opening at a proximal end thereof for receiving a optical receptacle; a plurality of contact fingers extending from the proximal end for engaging the optical receptacle and retaining the optical receptacle in the housing body; and a first side and a second side, each of the first side and the second side including mounting means for mounting a printed wire assembly within the transceiver housing.
Other objects and features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment.